French Supermarket Giant Auchan Adds Blockchain For Food Tracing in Five More Countries

Auchan, the 13th largest food retail in the world, has implemented TE-FOOD’s blockchain farm-to-table food traceability solution in France. Roll outs in four more countries will follow soon.

The retail chain’s Vietnam branch started to use TE-FOOD in 2016. The group has been monitoring the project since then, and now has decided to implement it in five countries: France, italy, Spain, Portugal, and Senegal.

As the first step, food quality and logistics-related information is available in France for vegetable products (organic carrot, potato), soon rolled out to other products (chicken), followed by more countries (tomato, chicken, carrot in Italy).

Consumers of the retail chain can scan QR codes on the products and view the food history with any mobile app which can read QR codes. The authenticity of all data will be verified on the FoodChain (TE-FOOD’s blockchain for global traceability information).

According to studies, 66% of consumers don’t believe the information displayed on food labels. Articles about food frauds are featured often in the media, resulting in a massive consumer distrust, which puts a growing pressure on the shoulders of food companies and food safety authorities. Farm-to-table food traceability on blockchain can be an efficient method to gain back the trust of consumers, but it is not the sole advantage of it.

During food related outbreaks, it often takes weeks to find the source of contamination in the supply chain, which can contain hundreds of companies residing in several countries. With TE-FOOD, the complete history of a food product can be instantly seen on blockchain, so recalls can be managed quickly and efficiently. Authorities can respond quicker to mitigate the effects of outbreaks, while the food companies can make targeted product recalls.

In Vietnam, more than 6000 companies are using TE-FOOD, including leading international food conglomerates like AEON, CP Group, Lotte Mart, Big C, Japfa, or CJ.